The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-07-01
BERTRAND DIGESTION.


: |.r.
Medical Nous. KS ,,.
DR.. II. A. Hare, Demonstration Of Expert.
mental Therapeutics and Inatrnctor in
Physical Diagnosis in tho Univorsity OF
Pennsylvania, ssys the physician is fire..
quentiy puzzled when perrcribing for a
conyalescent patient, as to which alcoholic
beverage Of mild and pleasant character
he can recommend with the least fear Of
.'upeetting" the Btomach. The writer has,
therefore, attempted 10 decide this ques.
ton. Before passing TO direct considera.
ton OF the methods employed and the re-.
sulta obtained 1t ID necessary that few
physiological and therapeutical points be
brought forward. Every one knows that
alcohol rotarda digestion In the test tube,
but nids 1t In the stomach and while these
facts seem somewhat paradoxical they are,
In reality, perfectly logical, for the follow.
Ing reasons: lff
In tho test tube we hayea given quantity
Of digestive fluid on which the alcohol
may act, and We cannot have any increase
In the quantity Of that fluid, because 1t Is
surrounded by glasa walls. 3 In the stom.
ach tho alcohol acts quito "a much on the
digestive ferment as 1t does In tho test
tube, but 1t also, by It's presence in that
viacua, excites tho gastric glands to auch
m extent that an oxcess5 Of gastric
juice Is eecreted eutlicient.to counterbal.
ance any anti.digestive influences. The
action Of the Bpirlt on the living tissue Il
greater than its action on tho digeativc
iernents. emf 5.1f 4s
Theoretically, alcohol should never be
used in indigestion or In conditions OF gas
tric weakness: practically, every physi
clan OF experience or education givcs al
cohol under just theae circumstances, and
very properly, too, gives tho stronger al
coholic preparations instead OF tho weak
or. In typhoid fever we give brandy Of
whisky in the first stages, almost solely 10,
the purpose OF increasing digestion. q
| 1t Is also known by those interested II
such matters In the profession that BEEF
aids digestion but little, or at all, by mean.
. OF its alcohol, since that constituent Il
present In 80 diluted form and In such
small quantity that 1t can neither aid di
gestion to any extent by acting on thu
coata OF the stomach nor retard it by inau
encing the digestive fluid. It should moi
be forgotten that while all alcoholic fluidl
theoretically retard digestion, that beel
, does go much less than brandy or whisky
owing to Its small amount Of alcohol, aut
while, as has already been shown, thil
fact rather obtains against Its use, tina
: this is overcome by the carbohic acid ant
bitter principles Of the beer, which stimu
late, excite and act as bitter tonics on tn,
gastric glands. A. sIgi7 81 III
4 Beers, to bs wholesome, nhould, there
: fora contain ca,bonic acid and bitter prin
ciples, the alcohol taking subservicn
, and almost useless role SO far as digestion
is concerned. ~ :,
!, To sum up tho results Of these expert
,, ments, We find that the beers examined
!, vary in their ac.ions aa much as thirty.nin
, , minu!ea, and that while most beerH d.
', not retard digestion in all probability il
tho stomach, that others aid digestion
. very materially.